Gwen Taking Part in ‘TODAY’s Summer Concert Series Jul. 15 (Updated)

Update!

Gwen hit the TODAY show stage early this morning in New York to take part of their Citi Summer Concert Series and performed a few songs and chatted with the hosts. She performed a mini-set featuring “The Sweet Escape”, “Misery”, “Hollaback Girl” and “Make Me Like You”. Fans packed the TODAY show plaza and Gwen delivered a solid set that is set to air on NBC this morning kicking off at 7:00AM EST/PST.

Gwen is heading back to New York on July 15 to perform during TODAY‘s summer concert series! She’s been announced in a new lineup and fans are able to attend the free concert held at the TODAY plaza on a first-come-first serve basis. TODAY is also offering a chance to win Fan Passes which you can look into here. Portions of the concert will be aired on the TODAY show which kicks off on NBC at 7:00AM EST/PST.

I’m surprised everyone is still optimistic and thinking we might still get a new single. I personally think that’s very unlikely due to how hard misery flopped and the album not doing so well. For mexample this era would be over now if it wasn’t for the tour. But at least there’s that to look forward to.

There is no one straightforward linear path or time-line when when it comes to albums or singles, unless you’re Adele, Beyonce, or someone of that stature and of the moment. Let’s be absolutely clear here – in Gwen’s case, she’s a 46-year old artist essentially attempting a solo career comeback after going 10 years between solo albums. That’s quite unprecedented, so we’re in uncharted territory as to how history will look back at this era.

As it is, we did get a new album (and a very good one, imho, which is the most important thing), when some of us thought that would actually never happen. And that album did go to #1 on Billboard, when some fans feared it wouldn’t. And then others feared the album would chart briefly and then sink like a stone (all legitimate fears, btw), but it actually stayed in the iTunes Top 40 for a good healthy two months and then in the Top 100 for a little longer after that. And while 300+k (160+k in the US) so far in worldwide sales admittedly isn’t an earth-shattering number, that is still slightly more than Blake’s album has sold worldwide to this point and is in fact a decent number for an artist at this advanced a stage in her career. There’s a good chance the album will be certified gold before the tour is done. I honestly don’t think there are many 20-something female pop artists on the charts today who could legitimately or realistically hope to be still cranking out chart-topping music 20 years from now, let alone attain anything close to what Gwen’s has achieved with TWITTFL. I actually think a 46-year-old Adele would be quite pleased if she could match Gwen’s longevity and current level of success. And speaking of the tour, some thought there’d be no way a tour would ever happen, but yet here we are days away from the tour commencing. So I say be thankful for what we have with this era, rather than what we don’t.

As for being optimistic about a next single, I really don’t see why not. Where does it say in what rule book that you can only put out a single depending on how well the preceding singles and accompanying album have done? We live in an era where it’s never been easier or cheaper to release a single. It cost next to nothing to release a song digitally for download, streaming or to radio. There is no actual physical product involved anymore (apart from limited vinyl releases). The only major cost would probably go towards producing a music video, this era’s first two of which cost next to nothing (UTLY and the Target-sponsored MMLY). Sophie has been following Gwen everywhere lately, so she’s probably currently on retainer, and in any case will probably be around to shoot the tour for an upcoming Tour DVD/Blu-ray. Coming to think of it, I wouldn’t be surprised if a forthcoming single’s video consisted partially of concert footage, a la “Don’t Speak”.

Speaking of which, TK sold only modestly for the first year of its release. The first two singles were only moderate hits (not unlike UTLY and MMLY), but was that the end of that era? Did they say no more singles, let’s close shop? No, instead they decided to release another single, but to save costs by forgoing a physical CD release entirely and sending “Don’t Speak” straight to radio and the video simultaneously to MTV. The rest, as they say, is history. The point being, it’s cheaper than ever now to put out a single, so why not? You really never know what could happen. More recently, Elle King had a huge hit with “Ex’s and Oh’s”, a full year after that song’s and its accompanying album’s release. 21 Pilots had a modestly selling album out for a year before they decided to discount that album to $6.99 and release “Stressed Out” as a single as their tour was winding to a close. The result? The single and album both climbed to #1, and they ended up extending their tour (much like ND did after DS and TK shot to #1). So yes, it can happen and obviously has happened. And yes, while it’s true it’s unlikely that lightning will strike twice for Gwen, I feel it will absolutely not hurt things to release one or even two more singles, IF that is what she has planned. I don’t see any major financial impediments to this happening. On the contrary, new single(s) = more promo = good for the tour = more $$$. But more importantly, I think most fans believe there are better songs on the album (with possibly more hit potential) than the singles released thus far. That alone is reason enough to be optimistic about a next single.

The only complication I foresee is the distinct possibility of the Timberlake/Stefani Trolls duet being released as single in September (is that why she’s off-tour in Sept, so she can promote that with Justin?). If that becomes a big hit, then she might have no need to release a further single from TWITTFL till December at the earliest, if ever, which would do little good for the tour (unless she intends to promote the album in Europe/Asia through 2017 – unlikely due to the kids/Blake). So if the next single is going to happen sooner rather than later, then I think it’s got to happen late July/early Aug. Other than that, lots to look forward to methinks! 🙂

Alex, you seem to be a nice person, but honey… most of the stuff you say just doesn’t make any sense. You are comparing apples with bananas.

TK was released in the early 90s when marketing, promotion and airplay worked totally different than today. Plus, there wasn’t even half as much competition as today. Today you just have to take 15 minutes browsing on Spotify and you will find 10 girls that sound like Gwen. People have so much more music to choose from while in the 90s you pretty much only listened to whatever the radio or music magazines told you to.

Yes, Elle King and 21 Pilots did have unexpected hits that took some time to take off, but again: apples and bananas. Elle King and 21 Pilots are young and fresh newcomers. The radio and the audience will always give newcomers a chance. Gwen on the other hand is a veteran artist that already had a big carreer. She is not given that many chances anymore. Misery was sent to radio about a month ago and it is already falling again. Trust me, it won’t come back next year and top the charts.

YYY, I’m sure you’re a nice person as well, but if my post made no sense to you, it is because you have largely misread it. My post was a direct response to Lisa, whose main point I believe was that she wasn’t optimistic there would be a NEXT single. My post was an attempt to argue the opposite – that we should be optimistic for a NEXT single (and that there are plenty of reasons Gwen SHOULD and probably will release a 4th single). Wouldn’t YOU like her to release another single, possibly over the next month or so, perhaps WWIB or A4I?

Now, perhaps I’m partly to blame for your misreading, by having led the post with a link to an update on MISERY. But Lisa had mentioned in passing that she thought the single had “flopped hard”, so that link was to address that passing comment and that alone. In fact, speaking of apple to apples, the single so far has performed par for the course compared to UTLY and MMLY in having taken approximately 3 weeks to gain traction in the radio market it was sent to (HAC as opposed to POP for the earlier two singles) and enter the Top 40 for that market. You’ve made it abundantly clear in the past that you oppose the choice of Misery as a single and I’m getting a sense you are still hung up on that (possibly/probably also a reason for your misreading of my post); However, NOWHERE (here or in the past) have I made the argument that Misery would be a smash hit.

Rather, I have argued it would probably NOT be a big hit because a large number of listeners who like the track already own it (those who bought the album/downloaded it as an “instagrat” pre-album promo release, plus many more who viewed the lyric video). One of the ways the single (or ANY post-album single for that matter) could catch on is on radio, BUT it was sent to HAC which is only 25-30% the size of mainstream POP radio, and I’m sure we can all agree that was a “safe” decision made by Interscope because of the overtly repeated “DRUGS” metaphor in the pre-chorus. Which begs the question – why officially release that single then? My answer to that has always been – why not? IF she had her heart set on releasing it and giving one of her “babies” the hope of a possible larger life, then as the CREATOR of all this music, then why not let her release the music she feels in her heart the greatest affinity to? Why begrudge her that? It doesn’t ALL have to be about chart success all of the time, does it?

Additionally, and this applies to ALL singles past, present and future, I have tried to argue that it has NEVER BEEN CHEAPER OR EASIER to release singles in this digital age of music. Therefore, she could feasible release as many singles as she wants, even if just to see which ones SINK OR SWIM. Is this far-fetched? Not at all, as this is in fact exactly what many artists, Rihanna and Beyonce included, have been doing lately. This includes sending different singles to different markets simultaneously.

As I’ve said, the only major expense in releasing singles these days involves producing promotional music videos for those singles. So you need to manage your video budget wisely, and she has done just that. Personally, I think she has the budget for more music videos = more singles are possible. She has really only spent anything on Misery, and I don’t think she spent all that much even if that was a very good video.

Incidentally, another argument I would make for her having released Misery at the end of May, and not another track, is that it serves nicely as a “bridge” single, i.e. something to occupy fans and the public for awhile, so she can “time” the next single for maximum effect. How does this possibly work in her favor? 1.) By protecting any other track on the album from overexposure just prior to the tour, this may serve to possibly build greater fan demand to hear the REST OF THE ALBUM live in concert – I do believe there IS evidence of pent-up demand among fans to hear the rest of the album tracks live, more so given their perceived “fatigue” with the three “overplayed” singles. 2.) The NEXT single, if that happens, needs to do serious double duty as promo for the tour, THEREFORE (and this is something the industry does all the time), ideally that music video will in some way or other contain CONCERT FOOTAGE to hopefully whet audience appetite to go see the tour. THEREFORE, said concert footage would need to be shot. THEREFORE, if one buys the preceding arguments (and some may not of course), then the NEXT single can only be released AFTER said tour footage is available. Hence, the logic of a “bridge” single in the meantime.

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MISERY, LOL. You have your opinion about that single and I have have mine. I’ve no problem agreeing to disagree. BUT the fact remains my response to Lisa was not so much about Misery, but I reiterate, much more so about the NEXT single. So it really doesn’t matter what era my examples come from – they are apples to apples because they are all examples of how releasing a single at any stage of an era (even a year later) CAN possibly change the trajectory of that era. Therefore, that right there is an argument for opting to release another single, rather than simply closing shop.

The Elle King and 21 Pilots examples show that the possibility of releasing an odds-defying, era-redefining single very much still does exist today, as it has throughout the history of modern popular music. The on-going evolution of the music industry has not changed this. The DS/TK example hits close to home, and would be a reminder to Gwen’s team and Interscope that the right single (pick your choice) released at the right time (again, pick your choice) could yet define this era. Once again, I’m talking strictly about the NEXT potential single, not any of the ones already released.

I’m sorry if you were mistaken, but I’m really not interested in rehashing an old argument, re: Misery, from over a month ago. I see that single as having served its limited purpose, and am now looking ahead to the tour and whatever else we may be so fortunate to experience in the coming months, be that another single/video from TIWTTFL, or GOABMH released as an official single (less exciting but I guess I’m okay with that, especially if they’re going to do “surprise” performances of it on the tour – perhaps the reason why it hasn’t already been released?), or the Trolls Gwen/Justin duet.

Any one of those releases “could” potentially morph into a “hit” and give the tour a nice boost, but even if they don’t, it’d still be nice additional bonus stuff for us to enjoy as fans. I don’t require the artists I follow or admire to be perfect. The same goes for their art (and their commercial decisions), so I’m happy with this era for what it is. But hey, that’s just me. 🙂

p.s. – 21 Pilots has been around since 2009, and the current album is their 4th, so hardly a new band. Even Elle King has been around since 2012 and this is her sophomore effort. That said, I agree this era has not at all been plain sailing for Gwen. As I said in the 2nd paragraph of OP: “Letâ€™s be absolutely clear here â€“ in Gwenâ€™s case, sheâ€™s a 46-year old artist essentially attempting a solo career comeback after going 10 years between solo albums” which is why I also said “be thankful for what we have with this era, rather than what we donâ€™t.”

I don’t think her age or career longevity should be the determining factor whether another single should be released (or not) though. I think it’ll be entirely up to her whether she thinks that single could help boost the tour and if she fancies there’s another song (or two) on the album that could potentially do the job. I believe there is, and I believe the majority of her fans do think so too. If she agrees with us, then there’ll be another single from the album. And if and when that happens, we can all have another merry debate over her “controversial” choice for that next single, LOL. 🙂

Alex, u changed your name from Echoustic to Alex Charles since u alienated a fee people here with your long (too long) and confusing information. You “p.s.-” replies to your own posts was what confirmed that. Do u really need to keep on writing those huge and detailed posts?

Take it easy, people. No Xanax needed, hehe. YYY and I were actually exchanging niceties and having a polite discussion about the likelihood of whether there will be a next single or not. It was a holiday weekend here in the US, this site was a bit quiet and I had a little extra time on my hands! 🙂 YYY may or may not have been mistaken that my earlier response to Lisa was mostly about Misery, but in fact I mostly talking up my own hopes for another single. I was attempting to clarify certain points by responding directly to YYY and those were meant specifically for YYY. If you care to look closely at the tabulation, you’ll see I was replying to YYY and the post itself was addressed to YYY. I also replied in addendum to myself, in a further effort to keep the conversation apart from “general” chat. It’s not required reading for anyone else (unless of course you happen to be interested in the topic) and actually it’s not even required reading for YYY either, LOL. But no, I’m not anyone else but myself and I’m not trying to deliberately “alienate” anyone. Just like the rest of you, I have opinions and I’m expressing them in my preferred way (I guess I’m more of a blogger type rather than a short comments person, so forgive me or excuse me for that). 100% understand though that not everyone may be interested in reading anything I post and I’m not offended by that. I ask that you not be offended too, since no offense was intended.

Violet – If you got to two paragraphs, that was already beyond the call of duty. :p The rest of it was just detailed point for point clarification meant to be between YYY and me. In a nutshell though, I’m hopeful there’ll be another single! 🙂

Alex Charles, I agree with everything you said in the second paragraph of your first post. I think that is a lot of albums sold and as you pointed out more than Blake and his is said to be super successful and at the peak of his popularity. He has like 21 million twitter followers and Gwen has a fraction of that yet outsold him.
I have a problem with Interscopes marketing of it assuming they selected the singles. Most on here agreed they were bad choices and bad timing, I don’t understand why they don’t do focus groups and listen to what people say….or visit over here.
A lot of people on twitter are saying the same thing and some have pointed out they are doing a better job marketing Fergie’s new single, maybe there’s an album too, don’t know am not following her, but it is Interscope.

Jill [ note: not required reading for anyone except Jill, and not even her! 🙂 ] – Thank you very much for your response and thanks in particular for actually addressing the topic itself. I myself have mixed feelings about Interscope’s marketing on Gwen’s behalf. On the one hand, I thought they did a good job promoting the album. I was surprised and excited to see posters around prominent parts of town near where I live. They may also deserve some credit for the marketing partnership with Target, as per this (yes, the ad campaign for MMLY actually won a coveted bronze prize at Cannes Lions last month):

But I do agree the whole roll out of the singles has been a bit of a mess. UTLY’s release was too rushed, imo. The video seemed a rushed decision too. Love the vid personally, but for a hit single I think it’s artistically polarizing, which imposes a limit on mainstream reach. Not sure who made those rushed decisions – Interscope or Gwen’s team. Misery would have been a logical follow-up to UTLY, imo, in terms of theme and tonality (where the “misery” would have been the misery of the previous single). But here’s where Target’s involvement (and their choice of MMLY) was a double-edged sword – the promo for MMLY was fab, but I believe MMLY would have fared even better as a late spring, early summer release (i.e., 3rd single). In truth, it was a bit wasted as a pre-Spring release. And as an added consequence, bumping Misery to 3rd was lamentable because the digital release of the song, the promo appearances (just a paltry two?) and the video were all so ridiculously spread out, none of it ever came together. And you need these elements to operate in perfect harmony to even have a whiff of a fair chance of scoring a sizable hit. As I’ve said, the only reason I see for her going ahead with that release, is that she had her heart said on it all along and she simply couldn’t let go. The video release I do appreciate, as it gives us fans a little something to enjoy while waiting for the tour to commence. As a pleasant bonus, she has somehow added 57,000+ new YouTube subscribers in just over a month since the Misery vid premiered. One presumes those are potentially new fans, some of whom might support the tour.

All said though, there’s really nothing that can be done about what’s already passed us by. Maybe the first 3 releases were messed up, but that doesn’t mean they can’t “magically” get it right for the 4th. They need to get the choice of song and timing of the release just right (duh). They will need to release it to POP radio, not just HAC (= no potentially controversial lyric), and they will also probably need to release the BEST music video of this era, maybe of her career. One thing the next single will have in it’s favor is the presence of the tour. Sorry for the long reply. Cheers! – A.

First of all, what’s the matter with posting big comments? I actually think it’s nice that a fan is taking the time to make such an analysis of things.

That being said, let me move on.
I really do think that it is a huge mistake when the labels are not reading what the fans are saying. In our times, they MUST do it. Especially if you consider that, nowadays, we’re knowing of the market.
So, I believe they visit here and read twitter – of course they do!! it’s unthinkable that they don’t -, and what is actually happening, is that Gwen is doing what she wants. Although I believe they pushed MMLY as second single, Misery was her choice. “It’s what I want to do, otherwise I don’t want to do it”. She had stated in the past, she wanted Misery as single.
Given that, I believe Interscope would do things differently, but Gwen wouldn’t. I don’t think she is excited for another single at all. Used to Love You was a great move, MMLY a very good single choice, but things went wrong with Misery imho.
In comparison to Fergie, let’s face it, things are looking more elaborate because she is involved in all stages of things. She called Kim Kardashian (not approving or disapproving, it’s not my place to say) to the music video, which reveals she is thirstyyyy, and it’s seems as though she has worked with a broad range of producers and writers to create something. Gwen’s first music video was UTLY, she only records MV’s with Sophie, and the producers/writers on the album were 3 or 4 – hello, comfort zone.

But in conclusion, I love Gwen, I love the album, I love all of what’s happening. I’m really glad for this era. It’s just that, commercially, things could have been handled differently. In the end, who cares? If this is how my favorite artist wants to keep releasing music, then so be it.

Seems like this was pretty good promo. The album is #23 on iTunes now and all the songs she performed are in the top 100 pop songs and Misery and Make Me Like You are back in the top 200 of all genres.